Empire Records; Wednesday [ 01/10 ]

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad opened Empire and, putting in some motivational heavy metal, set his simple brain to ultra-work mode. There wasn't much to do, sure, but he was hoping that, if he was working, he wasn't thinking, because he'd done enough thinking. To the point where he had Deb yay NPC employees on call so he could possible get some...things done tonight. Things that probably needed to be done. Things he wished didn't need to be done.

But maybe something would happen while he was here for a while to change the flow of things a bit. They seemed to have a habit of doing that: going one way one minute, the other the next. Chad feared it was driving him slightly crazy.

The heavy metal helped. A lot.

[[ empire's open ]]

Comments

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

Pippi flounces into the shop.

Whether this will help or aggravate the situation remains to be seen.

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad was happy to see Pippi; she never failed to make him feel better in any situation, it seemed.

He lifted his chin in greeting as she flounced in, from where he was doing stock and inventory in the Internation music section.

"Hey, Pippi."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Hi Chad!" Pippi stopped for a moment to listen to the music. "What's this?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad paused a moment to listen to what was playing at the current moment. "Early era Cave In, right now. Should be followed up with..." he stopped to think what he put in. "Gwar, I think."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

Pippi listened for a little longer.

"Hmmm. So, when do you want to practice?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"Practise?" Chad frowned at her a little. "...Oh. Right. Cheerleading?"

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Yes. Though now that I think of it. Teal Dear has a gig coming up ya?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"I....think so," Chad said after a moment, then shook his head despondedly. "I dunno. My brain's been..." he shrugged, failing to pick an adjective, "y'know? Kinda...out of it."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"How come may I ask?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"Lotta things," Chad said with a sigh, recounting the Sandy Lam CDs and making another ticker mark on the clipboard. "This island's too small for someone like me..."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"You're not that big Chad." Pippi grinned and poked him in the side.

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"I was being metaphorical," Chad said, and poked her back. But the small moment of amusement passed and his shoulders slumped again. "I got myself in a real big mess, Pippi. Don't know how to get myself out of it...without..."

...he really didn't want to hurt anyone...

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"...without what?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad was quietly thoughtful for a long moment before responding; he hadn't entirely been aware that his thoughts had just cut out.

"Hurting anyone..."

He shouldn't have let himself get so close to anyone; that's how he'd always been before. There, but removed. But people here were so...receptive to it. People here seemed to invite it. He wasn't used to it; he, clearly, couldn't do this right. It was hard to be that way here.

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

Pippi couldn't imagine Chad hurting anybody.

"...Do you want to talk about it?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad shook his head. Pippi should know he wasn't one to really want to talk much. "Not really," he said. "I just..."

He wasn't quite sure what it was he was going to say, so he stopped, shook his head. "I'm sorry, Pippi. You come in here all happy and then I gotta be all...emo and stuff..."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Don't be sorry because of how you feel." Pippi said reaching over to touch his arm.

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad shrugged. "Can't help it. Feelin' sorry's part of how I feel, too."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Well, you don't have to feel bad for feelin' bad around me just because I'm not feeling bad... 'Cause I'd rather make you feel better, or at least, not worse."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

There was a really, really long pause as Chad sorted through that.

"...Now I just feel confused."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"That's a little step up from emo... For now at least?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad nodded. "Yeah. Thanks. See? Already helping." And he gave her a little bit of a smile.

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Good." Pippi nodded and turned her attention to the CDs Chad was working on. "Whatcha doing here anyway?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"Inventory," Chad said, his voice mirroring just how exciting it was.

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Looks boring."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"It is," Chad agreed. "But it keeps me busy."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Keeping busy is good I guess."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"Right now it is."

He paused a moment, eyebrows frowning, but hidden by his hair. "Uhh, Pippi?"

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Hmmm?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"You, uhh...didn't really mean that about the cheerleading stuff, did you?"

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Of course I did! Why wouldn't I?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Crap.

"I...dunno. Jus' makin' sure..."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Oh it'll me so great if you make the team! ...When you make the team!"